Wednesday, January 6, 2010

GRANDMOTHER LAMBERTH'S QUILT



One of my family heirlooms, a quilt made by My Grandmother, Dora Lamberth.  Dora was married to Jim and the two of them had a passle of girls before they had my grandfather, James Garland, whom they lovingly called Buddy. Grandmother was a country housewife.  She cooked, she cleaned, she raised children--not to belittle these jobs, on the contrary--they were and are manditory to our very survival.  Grandmother Lamberth wore an apron everyday as she did her chores.  She cooked on a wood stove, milked the cows, fed the chickens and gathered the eggs, kept a spring and fall garden (which is virtually gardening all year long), and did all these jobs well.  Guess what she did in her free time?  WHAT FREE TIME? you ask?  That is what I want to know.  Then I began to put myself into the timeframe of around the turn of the twentieth century (1900) No television, no electricity, no telephones, outdoor bathrooms--so that's why my mother said grandmother didn't wear any underwear--convenience!!  Five children running all over the place, breakfast, lunch, and dinner to make for her family, food from the garden to preserve and put away for the winter, clothes to make for everyone.  I am tired already!!  The quilts were made -----NOT FOR FUN?  No, not for fun--for warmth-----------------and the winters were colder back then.  The temperatures in East Texas dipped down into the teens often and in the present time it almost never gets that cold.  We are about to have an "Artic Blast" where temperatures will be in the teens and everyone is going nuts about it.  They say it hasn't been this cold in 25 years!  But it did when my great grandparents lived.  The quilts were a nessessity and my grandmother made her necessities pretty.  Would n't you agree.  This is the only one I have, but I am sure they were all just as nice.  This one looks like it was made in the 1930's which was the later part of her life and one of her last quilts.  The patterns is Improved 9-patch.  The fabrics used in this quilt are from sacks that flour, sugar, and feed came in.  Manufacturers were so smart to cater to the farmwife.  Can you imagine what it would be like if these commodities came in fabric sacks now?  I would be the first one to the store to pick out my fabric.  Depending on what I was in need of, I would have a fat quarter to a yard of fabric. 
As the Artic Blast hits and your heat kicks on, pause a moment to think what life was like for your great grandmother.  She might have had to go out and stack the wood by the door so it would be a little easier for her to get to it as she stoked up the fire. Those warm quilts probably were also used to wrap up in as the family hovered close around that fire to keep warm.  I must say that I long for the simplicity of the time.  But it's an idealistic thing with me as I would never want to endure the hardships of the time.  No medications when your kids are sick--no transportation ----EXCEPT A HORSE OR A MULE--and I'm sorry, but that just would not work for me--I need TUNES!


Quilting

9 comments:

lesthook said...

That's a beautiful quilt. One of my grandmas sewed and quilted and the other one made beautiful crocheted doilies. And one wore what we called granny panties that were loose in the legs so they could be pulled to the side,LOL!

Pat said...

What a wonderful quilt....and what wonderful thought-provoking narration to go with it. I so regret that my family never kept any family handmade items to pass down. That makes me very sad.

Kathy said...

Lovin' this quilt and I love your story. You are such a storyteller and I just love hearing about your family.

Love ya Wacky Sista!

Rhonda said...

Great piece of your family's history, Molly.

Carlotta said...

Molly you are so funny, but I understand what you mean about needing those tunes. Such a lovely quilt. I love to hear the stories you tell. I couldn't imagine being in that time. I'm freezing right now in KY and not liking it one bit. Never really thought of my quilts being of a necessity, but at those times I can surely see why. Boy are we spoiled. Don't know where your Grandmother found the time to make any quilts with all she had going on, but I bet they were all beautiful if this one is any indication.

~Tootles!

StitchinByTheLake said...

I loved reading this story about your grandmother. I have one quilt from each of my grandmother's - both made later in their lives. Their early quilts weren't nearly as pretty because they were designed to be made quick and used up. blessings, marlene

quiltingnana said...

a wonderful quilt and lovely memoir...

Searchfamilies said...

What a beautiful quilt
Hugs Janice

Nanette Merrill said...

The quilt is so wonderful. I love it and I love the fabric and pattern. However, reading about what our ancestors life was like is a good reminder to us all.

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